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Today’s Top Stories:
Trump considered selling Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria, former acting Homeland Security chief says
The president asked, “Can we sell the island? You know, or divest of that asset?” in the immediate aftermath of the storm that killed 3000 Americans.
VIDEO OF THE DAY: Chris Wallace RIPS DeVos for trying to illegally cut off funding to schools that don’t reopen
Trump’s secretary of education is willfully obfuscating the severity of the pandemic to help the president change the narrative before November’s election.
No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen: Nancy Pelosi RIPS into McConnell unlike ever before
The gloves are officially off.
Internal CDC documents warn full reopening of schools is ‘highest risk’ for pandemic spread
The documents were shared the week Trump demanded weaker guidelines to reopen schools.
How Trump’s ICE helped spread the virus — “It was like a time bomb”
An investigation by NYT and The Marshall Project reveals how Immigration and Customs Enforcement became a spreader of the deadly virus.
Trump’s White House launches campaign to discredit Dr. Fauci
The president’s team is scapegoating the nation’s top infectious disease expert as the pandemic spirals out of control.
Japan ‘shocked’ and furious after major outbreaks at two US Marine bases in Okinawa
Authorities expressed grave concerns that America has not taken “adequate disease prevention measures” in pointed criticism of their long-time ally.
Election year is here!
Say goodbye to Trump forever with gear that tells him how you really feel.
Lindsey Graham suddenly announces that he’s willing to call Mueller to testify before Senate
The South Carolina senator tweeted the news as the consequences of Trump’s commutation of Roger Stone reverberated.
Park Police did not record radio transmissions during “photo op” sweep of White House protesters
Dem Rep. Raúl Grijalva said the mishap had “every appearance of a coverup” meant to protect the president.
Washington NFL team to announce retirement of offensive nickname
After FedEx threatened to pull out of a lucrative stadium naming rights agreement, team owner Daniel Snyder finally came to the sensible conclusion that a racist team nickname is bad for business.
Gone by Easter…
This is America…
Hope…
Today’s Action: Meet (virtually) with your Members of Congress during recess
Congress is on recess this week – and that means it’s time to get facetime with your Members of Congress! The pandemic is no excuse for our Members of Congress to hide from those they represent, because every office in the country has had time to figure out virtual meetings.
The conflation of a deadly virus, a historic movement for racial equality, a build-up of Democratic bills collecting dust in the Senate, and all Representatives and 35 Senators up for election on the same day we vote Trump out means there couldn’t be a more important time to demand they listen to us.
Call or email your Members of Congress and ask if they’ve set up a virtual town hall. If not, ask them to schedule one – or request a private virtual meeting. Choose 2-3 items from the list below, or bring in your other priorities:
- Pass the HEROES Act (Senators). The pandemic is out of control but the Senate has stalled for two months on passing the House’s legislation to support families and small businesses and provide funding to make our November election robust and safe.
- Boost public health to fight the virus. We need a national contact tracing strategy, and funding to assist with self-isolation housing. The price tag: $46.5 billion.
- Demilitarize the police and ICE. End the Department of Defense’s 1033 Program, which supplies our law enforcement and ICE with billions of dollars worth of combat weapons and vehicles.
- Support D.C. statehood (Senators). The 720,000 residents of Washington, D.C. have no voting representation in Congress. With a 46.94% Black population, this is a clear civil rights issue.
- Commit to rejecting police donations. We cannot trust our representatives to make informed, thoughtful decisions to eradicate police brutality toward Black people if they accept money from those police.
- Protect abortion rights. With Trump’s appointees in SCOTUS and throughout our judicial system hoping to overturn Roe v. Wade, it’s vital Congress passes legislation to secure strong abortion access at the federal level.
- …and more. Senators need to pass the Equality Act to protect LGBTQ+ individuals and the Dream and Promise Act to protect DACA and TPS recipients. Both the House and Senate need to defund ICE and stop family separation at our borders. We’re still funding and providing weapons for mass genocide in Yemen, and the AUMF gives Trump (and all our presidents) sweeping authority to make war without Congressional approval…plus so much we haven’t listed here.
Email or call your Members of Congress at their local offices to ask when their virtual town hall is scheduled. If there’s none, ask them to schedule you a private virtual meeting and bring your 2-3 priorities.
PS — Please don’t forget to sign the petition to stop Trump’s scheme to end Obamacare during a pandemic, and check out the brilliant “Don’t Think of an Elephant” by George Lakoff — a quick read that contains the ultimate keys for Democrats to win elections — and arguments.